Ethiopia’s 2018 political reforms were widely hailed for liberalising the country’s restricted political landscape. However, it did not take long for the transition to become mired in inter-ethnic and communal clashes. This report examines the drivers of the violence that ravaged Ethiopia between October 2019 and the end of 2020. It points to ethnic tensions, militant national identities, rival political elites and their mobilisation of the masses, along with state fragility and complicity.
